One week into the second half of the 2014 Northern Tier League season and things have changed among the league leaders.
Troy 17, Wellsboro 0
The Troy Trojans improved to 6-0 (2-0 NTL Division 1) as they held the previously undefeated Wellsboro Green Hornets scoreless in their homecoming game. It was 0-0 after the first quarter as each team moved the ball well offensively, but could not convert inside the red zone. The Wellsboro team would face adversity all night as Senior QB Michael Pietropola would exit the game with a shoulder injury. After that, Troy took advantage of good field position due to bad Wellsboro snaps and scored scored their first touchdown with 54 seconds left in the first half on a 5 yard run by Chance Lantz.
Troy would add to their lead in the third quarter on a 23 yard field goal from Nick Stephani to go up 9-0, and would scored with 8:32 left in the game on a 2 yard run by Issac Havens to finish the scoring at 17-0.
Bloomsburg 18, Muncy 0
The Muncy Indians continued their struggles on the season as they lost 18-0 to Bloomsburg. Sophomore Jahvel Hemphill rushing touchdowns and put up 52 yards on 19 carries. Sam Miller also caught a touchdown pass from Coty Kashner to round out the scoring. Kashner went 9-19 for 179 yards for Bloom, while Muncy’s Jeff Fry completed 2-of-12 passes for 12 yards.
Muncy running back Dakota Nixon continued to impress as he rushed for 127 yards on 20 carries, his fifth consecutive 100+ yard game. Muncy travels to Sayre in week 7 while Bloomsburg hosts Wellsboro.
North Penn 24, Warrior Run 7
The North Penn Panthers improved to 6-0 (2-0 NTL Division 1) after a dominant performance against visiting Warrior Run. Missing starting running back Bryce Zaparzynski, the Panthers relied on Brad Pequignot. Pequignot scored all of North Penn’s 24 points as he ran for 145 yards on 23 carries with three touchdowns and three two-point runs.
North Penn scored first on the night as Pequignot scored from 13 yards out and ran in the two-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead with 9:20 remaining in the first quarter.
Warrior Run cut the deficit to 8-7 with a second left in the quarter when Matt Trukenmiller caught a five yard touchdown from Franklin James.
Pequignot scored his second touchdown of the night at the 5:50 mark in the third quarter on a 20 yard run. Following his two-point conversion run, the Panthers held a 16-8 lead. In the fourth Pequignot got his third score on a two yard run with 9:08 left and capped the scoring with his third two-point conversion to give the Panthers the 24-7 victory.
North Penn travels to Troy in week 7 in a battle of the remaining unbeatens.
Wyalusing 31, Danville 0
The Wyalusing Rams improved to 4-2 after an impressive 31-0 shut out against Danville. Luke Jennings continued his impressive season as he rushed for 269 yards and 3 touchdowns on 32 carries. Jennings scored on runs of 34, 27, and 69 and Dylan Otis scored from one yard out to shut out the Ironmen.
Danville looked like they would score towards the end of the game, but a pass interference penalty against the Rams and a facemask against the Ironmen negated the score. Wyalusing takes on Athens in week 7.
Towanda 41, Athens 14
The Black Knights recorded their 500th program win last Saturday as they quickly jumped out 21-0 lead on the Athens Wildcats. QB Noah Huff got Towanda on the scoreboard first with 6:56 remaining in the opening frame on a 23-yard touchdown run. Tyler Basse hit the extra point and it was 7-0. After a quick four-and-out by the defense Steven Yates took the punt back 60 yards to the house and after Basse hit the extra point at 5:35 it was 14-0.
Towanda increased their lead to 21-0 in the final seconds of the first quarter as Dylan Bates scored on a five-yard touchdown pass from Huff and Basse hit the extra point. Yates scored on a five-yard run with 5:13 left in the half and Basse hit the extra point to make it 28-0 and Bates got his second score of the game at 1:34 of the half when he hauled in a 15-yard touchdown from Huff and Basse hit the kick.
After forcing an Athens fumble the Black Knights got the ball back and went right to work as Huff hit Noah Wheeler on a 14-yard touchdown with just 22.6 seconds left in the half. The kick failed and Towanda led 41-0 at the break.
Athens would score once in the third quarter and once in the fourth to eliminate the shut out. Sean Waltman capped the Wildcats first scoring drive with a 3 yard score. Austin Lister hit the extra point and it was 41-7 with 32.7 seconds left in the third quarter.
On their next possession the Wildcats gave the ball to Kalen Keathley on a reverse and he took off for a 27-yard touchdown. Lister hit the extra point with 9:39 left in the game for the final points of the contest.
Huff was 5-for-7 passing for 57 yards for Towanda with three of those five completions going for scores. Huff also gained 58 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown.
Yates had 52 yards on eight carries and Keegan Kisner had 20 yards on four carries. William Davidson gained seven yards, Nick Sutton four yards and Griffin Sites and Brandon McLinko each gained a yard. McLinko was 1-for-1 passing for a yard.
Towanda (4-2, 1-1 NTL Division 1) will take on Central Columbia in week 7.
Canton 46, Bucktail 20
Canton collected their second win of 2014 as they ran all over Bucktail in non-league action. Tyler Cole accounted for 224 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns to lead the Warriors to the win and remain in contention with Bloomsburg, Muncy and Montgomery , who Canton plays next week, all of whom are 2-4, for the last playoff spot in Class A.
The Warriors had two 100-yard rushers on the day as Noah Barnett also ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns, while Jimmy Bowman ran for 72 yards and a touchdown all in the second half. Canton ran for 359 yards on the afternoon, averaging 12.4 yards per carry.
The Warriors scored touchdowns on their first six possessions of the game, which spanned the entire first half as the undermanned Bucks. Cole scored his first touchdown on a 16-yard run and Barnett followed that with a 29-yard run for a score, before Cole then hauled in his 73-yard touchdown pass – all in the first quarter. Barnett would score on a 68 yard touchdown run and then Cole ripped one off from 85 yards for his third trip to the end zone in the second quarter to put the game out of reach.
Sayre 28, Cowanesque Valley 21
The Redskins scored a late fourth quarter touchdown to claim the victory on Homecoming night against the CV Indians. Sayre scored first to take an early 6-0 lead, but the Indians would not go away as they tied the game up as senior Ethan Mead scored for 10 yards out to finish the five play, 35 yard drive. Sayre, however, bounced right back on their next drive at the end of the first quarter as Tylor Bellis scored on a 25 yard run set up by a 31 yard run by Michael Ward to put the Redskins up 13-7.
Cowanesque would tie the game at 13 and would later score once more to hold a 21-13 lead on touchdowns by Mead. Sayre tied the game with 3:17 remaining in the fourth quarter when Garrett Weaver scored from eight yards out. Weaver then ran in the two-point conversion to tie the score at 21-21. CV fumbled the ball back to Sayre on their following possession, and Sayre would take advantage. The Redskins mounted a four play, 60 yard drive highlighted by a 42 yard run by Weaver. Ward would then score the game-winning touchdown to give the Redskins the victory.
Sayre hosts Muncy and CV hosts South Williamsport in week 7.
Ed Weaver is the creator of WellsboroAthletics.com and WellsboroFootball.com. You can follow him on Twitter, friend him on Facebook, or add him to your circles on Google+.
